The state correctional officers union has contributed $577,000 to a political committee controlled by state Sen. Don Perata, with most of the cash sent over in the final weeks of the current legislative session.
A spokesman for the California Correctional Peace Officers Association said it is his understanding the money is supposed to help defeat the Proposition 11 legislative redistricting initiative on the Nov. 4 ballot.
Lance Corcoran of the CCPOA also confirmed Tuesday that the union has geared up for an 11th-hour push to obtain a legislative pay raise for the labor organization that has worked without a contract for more than two years.
Corcoran said "there is absolutely nothing, there is no quid pro quo" between the contribution and the anticipated pay raise bill.
"When it comes to the CCPOA, it doesn't matter what the timing is," Corcoran said. "There will always be those who think there are strings attached."
But Jeannine English – the statewide president of AARP, which is supporting the Proposition 11 redistricting measure – along with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and groups such as Common Cause, called the CCPOA contribution shameful.
"For CCPOA to be trying to buy off Senator Perata so they will get a huge pay increase is appalling," English said.
Proposition 11 would take the power to redraw state legislative and Board of Equalization lines away from California lawmakers and place it in the hands of an appointed 14-person commission.
Proponents say the measure will make legislative races more competitive. Opponents say the initiative would take accountability away from the people who draw the lines.
No lawmaker has introduced a pay raise bill for the 31,000-member CCPOA. A last-minute effort on the last night of the legislative session last year ended in an after- midnight defeat suffered by the CCPOA. The union then accused top legislative chieftains – including Perata – of deception by letting the deal die. It then spent $2 million to help defeat a statewide initiative backed by the leaders to change the state's term limits law.
Secretary of State records show the CCPOA contributing $227,000 and $250,000 to Perata's Leadership California committee on Aug. 5 and Aug. 15, respectively. The union had contributed $100,000 to the committee on May 30.
Corcoran said he believes the union contributed to the Perata committee for the purpose of helping defeat the Proposition 11 redistricting initiative on the Nov. 4 ballot.
"We think it's a bad plan," he said.
Corcoran also said the CCPOA is trying to find a lawmaker to carry a bill to give the union members a raise and achieve for them a level of parity with the pay of California Highway Patrol officers.
Such a raise could cost the state anywhere from $327 million (the union's estimate last year) to $1 billion (the Schwarzenegger administration's prediction at the time), as the state is trying to solve a projected $15.2 billion budget deficit.
Bob Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies and a longtime political finance watchdog, said of the CCPOA's contributions to the committee, "the timing couldn't be clearer," between the contribution and the push for the pay raise.
"They want something from the Legislature, and they're giving something to the legislative leadership," Stern said. "I'm sure there's no agreement that they'll get what they want, but it certainly makes it easier to get what they want when they give this amount."
Stern said the amount of the contribution and the move for the pay raise pushes the propriety of the campaign finance system to its outer limits.
"Probably a nine out of 10," Stern said.
A spokeswoman for Perata said he would have no comment on the transaction.
"Senator Perata is focused on passing a budget," the senator's aide, Lynda Gledhill, said.
Paul Hefner, the spokesman for the committee opposed to the redistricting measure as well as for Perata's political operations, including Leadership California, said the CCPOA money hasn't been spent yet.
"We're in this weird situation where nobody knows what's going to be on the ballot," Hefner said, of maneuvers still going on that could place before voters in November additional issues such as water bonds and redirected lottery revenues. "Whatever is going to be on the ballot is going to take resources to let people know what it is. You have to gather them as you can and let the chips fall where they may."
Hefner said, "I only know what I read in the paper" about legislation.
"From my experience, in dealing with the pro tem, he makes his decisions on policy issues separate from anything related to politics," Hefner said. "He makes his decision on policy based on merit."
Call Andy Furillo, (916) 321-1141.
